Меркулова Е.М., Филимонова О.Е. English for University Students
Подождите немного. Документ загружается.
4. By doing nothing we learn to do ill.
5. Better untaught than ill taught.
6. Brevity is the soul of wit.
7. Dot your i's and cross your t's.
Exercise 38
Translate the following quotations and comment upon them.
'A university should be a place of light, of liberty and of learning.
Benjamin Disraeli
'Knowledge is a city, to the building of which every human being brought a stone.'
Ralph W. Emerson
'Knowledge is power.'
Francis Bacon
'Knowledge comes, but wisdom lingers.'
Alfred Tennyson
Exercise 39
Role Play. "A Talk in the Living-Room".
Setting: The Richardsons' house.
Situation: A group of students gather at Richardsons' on their vacations. They used to be classmates once.
Now they are all students of different colleges and universities. In the evening they are sitting in the living-
room near the fireplace and speak about their college life, sharing experiences.
Characters:
Card I—II — Sarah and Terry Richardson. They have in vited everyone to their house. They are a
sister and brother and go to a technical college. Sarah hates it and Terry loves it.
Card III—IV — Dora and Laura. Two medical school students. They have just had their professional
experience in a hospital and compare studies and real life.
Card V — Harry, a student of the chemical faculty at the university. He failed to pass his exams in
spring and is going to take them in autumn.
Card VI — Barbara, a student of the French department of the faculty of foreign languages at a
university. She has won a personal grant for success in studies.
Card VII—VIII — Barry and Jerry, two friends who do economics at the university. Both are enthusiastic
learners and like to speak about their future speciality.
Card IX — Flora, a student of an art school. She likes her drawing classes but does not like any of her
other subjects.
Card X—XI — Clarry and Nora, students of a music school. In school years they used to be friends
because they played in a school orchestra. They are thinking of creating a pop-group of their own.
Card XII — Lany. He was expelled from the faculty of Maths for missing classes and is dreaming of
getting back.
WRITING
Exercise 1
Prepare to write a dictation. Learn the spelling of the words and phrases in bold type from Introductory
Reading and the words from exercise 1 on page 208.
Exercise 2
Write an essay on one of the following topics.
1. Our College Life Needs Changes.
2. Some Advice for College Students.
3. Why (Psychology/Sociology/...) Is So Popular with Students.
4. I Would Put Myself in the Group of (Diligent/Lazy/...) Students.
5. Education Reform. To Be or Not to Be?
Exercise 3
The world is changing, and many people feel that college will have to change to keep up. Make a list of
the ways college may be different in response to these changes in the year 2025. Use these ideas to write a
letter from a student in the year 2025, telling a grandparent about his or her first day at college. Begin it like
this:
111
Note:
Letters may be personal or business. We will consider the layout of a personal letter. It consists of the
date, the greeting, the opening paragraph, the middle paragraphs, the closing paragraph, the closing proper
and signature, and sometimes a postscript. Below is a sample outline of a letter to a friend.
1 September, 1999
LESSON 9 CHARACTER AND APPEARANCE
INTRODUCTORY READING AND TALK
Appearances are deceptive. It is a common truth; practically everyone has met at least someone whose
character and appearance differ radically.
When one sees a tall, broad-shouldered youth, one expects him to be strong-willed and brave. One
thinks: 'A model to follow!' How often a good-looking individual turns out to be petty, weak-willed or
even cowardly. Then one thinks: 'A mediocrity!'
At the same time everyone knows that a lot of great people were of a poor build: short and fragile. It did
not stop them from displaying intelligence and courage. Ingenuity does not depend on one's complexion
or constitution.
Plump or fat people create an impression of generous and kind personalities. Strangely enough, not
rarely they may be thrifty or even greedy. One usually thinks: 'A scrooge!'
On the other hand, thin or slim nervous ladies often tend to be lavish. They like to buy and never think
twice when they pay. One thinks: 'I would call her open-handed and Mother would call her a spendthrift'.
Yes, mothers are always stricter in judgements.
Has it ever happened to you that you come to an important office and see an important boss? You
immediately evaluate his looks: 'Round-faced, small narrow eyes, dimples on the cheeks and an up-
turned nose. What a kind-hearted person! A simpleton!' You tell the boss of your troubles and expect
immediate help. But the boss appears to be rude, harsh and wilful. You never get your help and think: 'A
stone heart and an iron fist'.
When someone sees a delicately built pretty blonde with curly hair, blue eyes, a straight nose and a
high forehead, one is inclined to think that the beauty is intelligent and nice. It may be disappointing to
think later 'What a stupid, capricious, impolite bore!'
On the contrary, when one sees a skinny brunette with ugly irregular features — a hooked nose,
pointed chin, close-set eyes and
thin lips, strange thoughts come to one's head; because it is the image of evil people — cruel and
cunning . It may be a relief some time later to find her a clever, gentle and good-mannered lady and think:
'What charm! A heart of gold!'
Another general misconception lies in the fact that children are always expected to resemble their
parents. And parents like it when children take after them. Relatives like to compare moles, the shape of
112
noses, etc. The greatest compliment is: "They are as like as two peas'. The greatest disappointment is to
find nothing in common. We want to deny people their exclusiveness, we don't want to admit that nature
has selected other options from an enormous genetic fund developed over generations. Why do we like our
copies? Who knows!
Nature likes to play tricks on us. But don't you think it is a present on the part of nature? Life becomes not
a boring routine, but a brilliant kaleidoscope of characters and appearances which often clash.
1. Do you agree that appearances are deceptive? Tell your classmates about your own experience.
2. Do you think it is worth judging by appearances? Give your reasons.
3. Look at the pictures below and choose the right word from the lists to describe the shape of one's face,
eyes, nose, chin, lips, forehead.
Face:
a) oval b) round c) long d) square
Eyes:
a) almond b) slanting c) round d) narrow
Nose:
a) aquiline b) hooked c) straight d) upturned
Chin:
a) protruding b) split c) double d) pointed
Lips:
a) thin b) plump c) thick d) heart-shaped
Forehead:
a) wrinkled b) narrow c) balding d) high
4. Find people among your relatives who resemble one another. Describe their appearance.
5. Say a few words about your character. Do you take after your parents?
TEXT
Young Archimedes
(Extract from the story by A.Huxley "Young Archimedes". Abridged.)
It was the view which finally made us take the place. Our nearest neighbours lived very near. We had two
sets of them,
1
as a matter of fact, almost in the same house with us. One was the peasant family. Our other
neighbours were the owners of the villa.
113
They were a curious people, our proprietors. An old husband, grey, listless, tottering, seventy at least; and
a signora of about forty, short, very plump, with tiny fat hands and feet and a pair of very large, very dark
eyes, which she used with all the skill of a born comedian.
But we had found other reasons, after a few days' residence,
2
for liking the house. Of these the most
cogent was that, in the peasant's youngest child, we had discovered the perfect play-fellow for our own small
boy.
3
Between little Guido — for that was his name — and the youngest of his brothers and sisters there was
a gap of seven years. He was between six and seven years old and as precocious, self-assured, and
responsible as the children of the poor generally are.
Though fully two and a half years older than little Robin — and at that age thirty months are crammed
with half a lifetime's experience
4
— Guido took no undue advantage of his superior intelligence and
strength. I have never seen a child more patient, tolerant, and untyrannical. He never laughed at Robin; he
did not tease or bully, but helped his small companion when he was in difficulties and explained when he
could not understand. In return, Robin adored him, regarded him as the model and perfect Big Boy,
5
and
slavishly imitated him in every way he could.
Guido was a thoughtful child, given to brooding.
6
One would find him sitting in a corner by himself, chin
in hand, elbow on knee, plunged in the profoundest meditation. And sometimes, even in the midst of the
play, he would suddenly break off, to stand, his hands behind his back,
7
frowning and staring at the ground.
And his eyes, if one looked into them, were beautiful in their grave and pensive calm.
They were large eyes, set far apart and, what was strange in a dark-haired Italian child, of a luminous pale
blue-grey colour. They were not always grave and calm, as in these pensive moments. When he was playing,
when he talked or laughed, they lit up. Above those eyes was a beautiful forehead, high and steep and domed
in a curve that was like the subtle curve of a rose petal.
8
The nose was straight, the chin small and rather
pointed, the mouth drooped a little sadly at the corners.
My gramophone and two or three boxes of records arrived from England. Guido was immensely
interested. The first record he heard, I remember, was that of the slow movement of Bach's Concerto in D
Minor for two violins. That was the disc I put on the turn-table.
Guido came to a halt in front of the gramophone and stood there, motionless, listening. His pale blue-grey
eyes opened themselves wide; making a little nervous gesture that I had often noticed in him before, he
plucked at his lower lip with his thumb and forefingers.
After lunch he reappeared. 'May I listen to the music now?' he asked. And for an hour he sat there in front
of the instrument, his head cocked slightly on one side, listening while I put one disc after another.
Thenceforward he came every afternoon.
What stirred him almost more than anything was the Coriolan overture. One day he made me play it three
or four times in succession; then he put it away.
'I don't think I want to hear that any more,' he said.
'Why not?'
'It's too... too...' he hesitated, 'too big,' he said at last. 'I don't really understand it. Play me the one that
goes like this.' He hummed the phrase from the D Minor Concerto.
'Do you like that one better?' I asked.
He shook his head. 'No, it's not that exactly. But it's easier.'
'Easier?' It seemed to me rather a queer word to apply to Bach.
In due course, the piano arrived. After giving him the minimum of preliminary instruction, I let Guido
loose on it.
9
He made excellent progress. Every afternoon, while Robin was asleep, he came for his concert
and his lesson. But what to me was more interesting was that he had begun to make up little pieces on his
own account.
10
He had a passion for canons. When I explained to him the principles of the form he was
enchanted.
'It is beautiful,' he said, with admiration. 'Beautiful, beautiful. And so easy!'
Again the word surprised me.
But in the invention of other kinds of music he did not show himself so fertile
11
as I had hoped.
'He's hardly a Mozart,' we agreed, as we played his little pieces over. I felt, it must be confessed, almost
aggrieved.
He was not a Mozart. No. But he was somebody, as I was to find out,
12
quite extraordinary. It was one
morning in the early summer that I made the discovery. I was sitting in the warm shade of our balcony,
working. Absorbed in my work, it was only, I suppose, after the silence had prolonged itself a considerable
time that I became aware that the children were making remarkably little noise. Knowing by experience that
114
when children are quiet it generally means that they are absorbed in some delicious mischief,
13
1 got up from
my chair and looked over the balustrade to see what they were doing. I expected to catch them dabbling in
water, making a bonfire, covering themselves with tar. But what I actually saw was Guido, with a burnt stick
in his hand, demonstrating on the smooth paving-stones of the path, that the square on the hypotenuse of a
right-angled triangle is equal to the sum of the squares on the other two sides. Robin listened, with an
expression on his bright, freckled face of perfect incomprehension.
Guido implored: 'But do just look at this. It's so beautiful. It's so easy.'
So easy... The theorem of Pythagoras seemed to explain for me Guide's musical predilections. It was not
an infant Mozart we had been cherishing; it was a little Archimedes with, like most of his kind, an incidental
musical twist.
14
Leaning on the rail of the balcony, I watched the children below. I thought of the extraordinary thing I
had just seen and of what it meant.
I thought of the vast differences between human beings. We classify men by the colour of their eyes and
hair, the shape of their skulls. Would it not be more sensible to divide them up into intellectual species?
There would be even wider gulfs between the extreme mental types than between a Bushman and a
Scandinavian.'
5
This child, I thought, when he grows up, will be to me, intellectually, what a man is to a dog.
Proper Names
Archimedes [,k'mi:di:z] — Архимед
Aldous Huxley ['lds 'hksl] — Олдос Хаксли
Guido ['wi:d] — Гвидо
Robin ['rbn] — Робин
Bach [bk] — Бах
D Minor Concerto ['di: 'man kn':t] — концерт «Ре-минор»
Coriolan [,kr'lt] — Кориолан
Mozart ['mtst] — Моцарт
Pythagoras [pa'rs] — Пифагор
Vocabulary Notes
1. We had two sets of them ... — Это были две семьи ...
2. ... after a few days' residence... — ... прожив несколько дней ...
3. ... in the peasant's youngest child we had discovered the perfect play-fellow for our own small boy.
— ... младший ребёнок из этой крестьянской семьи оказался прекрасным другом для нашего
собственного малыша.
4. ... thirty months are crammed with half a lifetime's experience ... — ... в тридцать месяцев вмещается
опыт, приобретаемый за полжизни ...
5. ... regarded him as the model and perfect Big Boy ... — ... считал его образцом для подражания и
настоящим Большим Мальчиком...
6. ... given to brooding ... — ... склонный к размышлениям ...
7. ... he would suddenly break off, to stand, his hands behind his back ... — ... он вдруг неожидано
прерывал своё занятие и вставал, заложив руки за спину...
8. ... domed in a curve that was like the subtle curve of a rose petal. — ... очертания которого
напоминали тонкие очертания лепестка розы.
9. ... I let Guido loose on it. — ... я разрешил Гвидо играть на нём сколько угодно.
10. ... to make up little pieces on his own account. — ... самостоятельно сочинять маленькие
произведения.
11. ... he did not show himself so fertile ... — ... он не особенно преуспел ...
12. ... as I was to find out... — ... как мне было суждено обнаружить ...
13. ... they are absorbed in some delicious mischief... — ... они увлечены какой-нибудь
восхитительной шалостью...
14. ... with, like most of Ms kind, an incidental musical twist. — ... как это бывает в большинстве
подобных случаев, неожиданно наделённый ещё и музыкальными способностями.
15. ... between a Bushman and a Scandinavian. — ... между бушменом и скандинавом (Прим.:
бушмен — представитель народности, проживающей в Южной Африке).
Comprehension Check
1. What made the family rent the house?
2. What were the two sets of neighbours they had?
115
3. What sort of people were the owners of the villa?
4. What did the parents discover in the peasant's youngest child?
5. What made Guido so responsible and precocious?
6. What gap was there between Guido and Robin?
7. Did Guido take advantage of his superior intelligence and strength?
8. How did Guido treat Robin?
9. What was Robin's attitude to Guido?
10. What kind of child was Guido?
11. What did Guido look like? What was strange about his eyes?
12. What was Guido immensely interested in once?
13. What piece of music stirred him more than anything?
14. Did Guido make slow progress in playing the piano?
15. What did he start doing on his own account?
16. Did he show himself fertile in the invention of all kinds of music?
17. What word surprised the author in Guide's comment on the music?
18. Why were Robin's parents almost aggrieved?
19. What interrupted the author's work one morning?
20. What did the author see when he looked over the balustrade?
21. What sort of discovery did the author make one morning?
22. What kind of ideas came to the author's mind?
Phonetic Text Drills
○ Exercise 1
Transcribe and pronounce correctly the words from the text.
Signora, comedian, cogent, precocious, undue, untyrannical, to tease, to bully, to regard, to frown, to
stare, luminous, to droop, concerto, gesture, to pluck, forefinger, thenceforward, succession, to loose, to
enchant, to confess, to aggrieve, extraordinary, mischief, balustrade, to dabble, bonfire, hypotenuse, right-
angled, triangle, to implore, theorem, predilection.
○ Exercise 2
Pronounce the words and phases where the foolowing clusters occur.
1. s+t+r
Strength, instruction, extraordinary, balustrade, demonstrating, extreme;
2. plosive + r
Proprietors, grey, brothers, brooding, break, grave, gramophone, preliminary, progress, agreed,
prolonged;
3. plosive/n +
Take the place, at that age, at the ground, sat there, like the subtle curve; in these, on the turn-table, stood
there, again the word, made the discovery.
○ Exercise 3
Pronounce after the announcer and say what kind of false assimilation should be avoided.
Was the view, was the peasant, was that, as the children, months, his small companion, as the model, was
strange, was straight, was the disc, was somebody, was sitting.
○ Exercise 4
I. Pronounce correctly the second form of regular verbs.
Lived, used, discovered, crammed, explained, imitated, looked, pointed, drooped, arrived, interested,
opened, plucked, asked, cocked, hummed, enchanted, surprised, aggrieved, watched.
II. Pick out compound nouns from the text, transcribe them, and put primary and secondary stresses.
○ Exercise 5
Transcribe and intone the bit starting with 'I don't tffink I want to hear...' and ending with '... a queer word
to apply to Bach.'
EXERCISES
Exercise 1
Match the words on the left with the meaning on the right.
Adjectives:
1. curiousA. thinking deeply about something
2. listless B. having no energy or enthusiasm
116
3. tolerant C. having or showing good reasoning power
4. pensive D. allowing other people to say and do what
5. intellectual they think is right even if one doesn't
6. tyrannical agree with it
7. patient E. being able to stay calm and not get
annoyed
G. unusual and interesting
F. acting cruelly and unjustly towards the
people who one controls
Verbs:
1. totter A. make fun of somebody, deliberately
2. bully embarrass somebody
3. tease B. walk in an unsteady way
4. stir C. delight, bewitch, charm somebody
5. enchant D. care lovingly and tenderly
6. cherish E. think about something a lot seriously and
7. brood often unhappily
F. excite somebody, make one react with a
strong emotion
G. use one's strength or power to hurt or
frighten somebody
Nouns:
1. gap A. the state of being unable to
2. skilunderstand something l
3. com B. mental preference, liking panion
4. inte C. the ability to understand and learnlligence
5. prethings dilection
6. mis D. a great difference between twochief
7. incomprehension E. ability to do something well
F. someone who you spend time with
G. naughty behaviour of children,
eagerness to have fun by playing
tricks or by embarrassing people
Exercise 2
I. Draw lines between the pairs matching the words on the left with their opposites on the right.
self-assured calm
fat undelightful
dark-haired inferior
nervous thin, slender
delicious fair-haired
listless miserable
superior energetic
steep rough
smooth sloping
II. Draw lines between the pairs matching the words on the left with the words or phrases of similar
meaning on the right.
plump prematurely developed
tiny reasonable
precocious rather fat
sensible odd
queer exceptional
extraordinary convincing
cogent still
motionless serious
grave extremely small
117
Exercise 3
Choose a suitable word or phrase from the passage you have read to complete the sentences.
1. The owners of the villa were a ... people. There was a... of almost thirty years between husband and
wife.
2. The signora had very large, black eyes and she used them with ... .
3. Robin adored Guido, he ... him as the ... and copied him in ... he could.
4. Being a ... child, Guido was given to ... and liked to sit... , chin .... elbow ....... in the profoundest
meditation.
5. Sometimes Guido suddenly interrupted the game and stood ... at the ground.
6. If you looked into Guide's eyes you would find out that they were beautiful in their ... and ... calm.
They were set... .
7. When Guido was listening to the music, he ... at his lower lip with his ... and ... .
8. Soon Guido started ... little pieces on ... . He had ... for canons.
9. Guido was really ... by canons and the principles of the form.
10. When Robin's parents played Guide's little pieces over they felt almost....
11. There was an expression of ... on Robin's bright and ... face when Guido was... the theorem of
Pythagoras to him.
12. The author expected the boys to be ... in some ... , to ... them ... in water or ... a bonfire.
13. Guido appeared to be not an... Mozart, Robin's parent had been ... but... Archimedes with an ...
musical twist.
14. There was a wide ... between Guido and Robin as between the two different... types.
Exercise 4
Fill in the blanks in the following sentences. Use only one expression in each space. Change the form of a
word or a phrase if necessary.
to laugh at somebody to be an Archimedes
to make progress to shake one's head
to make up on one's own account
to make noise to put something away
in return to come to a halt
to know by experience to be crammed
to take advantage
of something to be in difficulties
1. My brother is in the habit of... those people he has a grudge against.
2. The silence was oppressive. He ... that something was wrong.
3. She was so scared that she couldn't say a word. When the policeman asked her something she just ... to
say "No".
4. Dick adored my daughter. As soon as she started playing the piano he ... near it and could stand
motionless for half an hour enjoying both my daughter and the music.
5. You never know what's on his mind. It's characteristic of him to ... all sorts of stories. No wonder his
friends do not have much confidence in him.
6. Sometimes it may be so annoying to look after kids. They like to ... when playing.
7. As Brian was left to himself and had to go through lots of difficulties his life appeared ... with all sorts
of experience.
8. Little George is a special child; he is immensely interested in maths and physics. His parents and
teachers are so proud of him that they say that he ....
9. Jane is always calm and patient and never loses her temper when explaining things to her pupils. That
is why they just adore her... .
10. Practically all composers started writing music ... in eariy childhood.
11. One's career depends on how quickly he or she ... in acquiring new skills and knowledge.
12. In sports and games competitors always try to ... their opponents' mistakes and weaknesses.
13. After a child has played enough with his new toy, he ... and forgets about it for a while playing with
his old favourite ones.
14. Noble and generous people always come to help their friends when the latter ....
Exercise 5
118
Give the English equivalents for the Russian words and expressions.
A.
Ходить пошатываясь, ковыляя; размышлять; задирать кого-либо; обожать; лелеять; быть
очарованным; волновать кого-либо; подражать кому-либо; злоупотреблять чем-либо; прервать
(занятие); преуспевать в чём-либо; увлекаться чем-либо; испытывать затруднения; умолять;
дразнить; плескаться в воде.
В.
Гладкий; странный; апатичный; пухлый; развитой не по годам; самоуверенный; ответственный;
веснушчатый; крутой (лоб); изящный; мечтательный; серьёзный; острый (подбородок);
необыкновенный.
С.
Разница в семь лет; на целых два с половиной года старше; интеллектуальное и физическое
превосходство; склонный к размышлению; заложив руки за спину; уставившись в землю; подперев
подбородок рукой; опершись локтем о колено; широко расставленные глаза; уголки рта слегка
опущены; глаза широко раскрылись; пощипывая нижнюю губу большим и указательным пальцами;
нервный жест; слегка склонив голову набок; напевать без слов; музыкальные способности.
Exercise 6
Change the following sentences using the phrases from the text instead of the ones in italics.
1. Nick was five years younger than his brother.
2. Though Andrew was athletic and much stronger than all his play-fellows he never used it for his own
benefit trying to overawe them with it.
3. Daniel always thought that his brother was a good examplefor him.
4. Having stayed several days at a health resort, we quickly got bored.
5. In fact, we were on good terms with our companions.
6. Frank was absolutely absorbed in watching a cowboy film and nothing could make him stop
doing it.
7. After explaining the most important things to him I let him play the guitar as much as he wanted.
8. He did not feel determined enough and could not start a new business.
9. You can't divide people up into good and bad ones because human nature is not that simple.
10. The girl's face showed that she couldn't understand anything though she listened to the speech with
great attention.
11. I was aware of his making progress in music but listening to his pieces you couldn't say he was as
good as Mozart.
12. When Alex was told that she was stingy it made him feel upset and angry because he had never
dreamed of having a stingy wife.
13. Nothing could move him more than a nice, quiet folk song performed by a peasant woman.
14. Ann's daughter is often absorbed in thinking deeply about something and whatever you say to her
goes in one ear and out the other.
Exercise 7
Translate into English.
1. Наши друзья были владельцами виллы. Мистеру Редгрейву было около семидесяти, его жене —
примерно сорок.
2. Младший из семьи Редгрейвов стал прекрасным другом для нашего малыша.
3. Малыш Дэнни был развит не по годам, уверен в себе и обладал большим чувством
ответственности.
4. Я никогда не видел ребёнка более терпеливого и снисходительного к другим.
5. Дэнни не был тираном и не пользовался своим умственным и физическим превосходством.
6. Наш малыш считал своего друга образцом для подражания и всячески стремился доходить на
него. .
7. Дэнни часто погружался в глубокие раздумья.
8. Он любил стоять, заложив руки за спину, нахмурившись и уставясь в землю.
9. Широко расставленные глаза Дэнни излучали тихий ясный свет.
10. Общее выражение лица мальчика было очень жизнерадостное, но уголки рта были как-то
грустно опущены.
119
11. Когда мальчик слушал музыку и интересные истории, он сидел широко раскрыв глаза и слегка
наклонив голову набок.
12. Больше всего его волновали истории с трагическим концом.
13. В математике Дэнни делал потрясающие успехи.
14. Поглощённый своими объяснениями, Дэнни не замечал, что лица его приятелей выражали
полное непонимание.
Exercise 8
Expand on the following.
1. The owners of the villa were a curious people.
2. Though fully two and a half years older than little Robin, Guido took no undue advantage of his
superior intelligence and strength.
3. Robin adored Guido.
4. Guido was a thoughtful child.
5. Guido was immensely interested in listening to music.
6. Guido made excellent progress in playing the piano.
7. The boy was hardly a Mozart.
8. The theorem of Pythagoras seemed to explain Guide's musical predilections.
9. I thought of the vast differences between human beings.
Exercise 9
Speak about the author's experience in Italy:
1. in the third person;
2. in the person of one of the proprietors;
3. in the регеод of Guido;
4. in the person of little Robin.
Exercise 10
Discussion points.
1. Did Guide's appearance correlate with his character? Why?
2. What could make Guido so patient and tolerant?
3. What do you think of little Robin? Compare the boys.
4. What sort of people were Robin's parents, in your opinion?
5. Fancy your own child imitating somebody slavishly. What would you tell him or her?
6. Have you ever met children like Guido? Tell the class about them.
7. Do you believe that genius always shows in early childhood? Prove your point.
8. The vast differences between human beings — what are they?
Exercise 11
Comment on the following words of the author.
'...it was a little Archimedes with, like most of his kind, an incidental musical twist.'
'We classify men by the colour of their eyes and hair, the shape of their sculls. Would it not be more
sensible to divide them up into intellectual species?'
Exercise 12
Describe several people using the patterns from the passage you have read. Introduce your description
with a sentence similar to the pattern:
► Pattern: a) They were a curious people, our proprietors.
b) An old husband, grey, listless, tottering, seventy at least.
c) A signora ofabout jourty, short, very plump, with tiny hands andfeet and a pair ofvery large,
very dark eyes.
A model paragraph:
She is a nice person, my friend. A young giri, of about twenty, blond, slender, with an upturned nose, etc.
Exercise 13
Speak about people's age.
I. Give your own examples according to the models below. Speak about your relatives or friends.
► Pattern: He was between six and seven (years old).
Between little Guido and the youngest of his brothers and sisters there was a gap of six or seven years.
He was fully two and a halfyears older (younger) than little Robin.
120